Tigers cruise past Chargers in GPAC battle

MITCHELL, S.D. – Coming off just their second loss of the season, the Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball team responded in an impressive way, sweeping fellow Great Plains Athletic Conference foe, Briar Cliff University in straight sets Friday night at the Corn Palace.

 Set scores were 25-14, 26-24, 25-14.

 DWU was dominant in the opening frame as they jumped out to an early 10-5 advantage following a service ace by Mariah Gloe (Watertown, S.D.), forcing a BCU timeout.

 Coming out of the timeout, the Tigers (6-2, 3-2 GPAC) continued to flex their muscles, scoring seven straight points thanks to consecutive points by Jadie DeLange (Monument, Colo.).

 Mackenzie Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) helped DWU close out the opening set as she recorded a pair of kills to push the Tigers onto an opening-set win.

 The Chargers (4-5, 0-4 GPAC) came out in the second set looking to answer their opening-set loss. After a service ace by Madeline Else (Holstein, Iowa) pushed the Tiger lead to five points, the Chargers responded with seven-consecutive points to take the lead late in the set.

 Following an attacking error on BCU, Gloe notched a service ace to force the Chargers to call a timeout. With neither team able to separate, McKenzie Buisker (Watertown, S.D.) notched a kill, followed by a Dannielle Burns (Raymond, Minn.) service ace to escape the second set with a win.

 The Tigers opened the third set similar to the first as they jumped out to an 11-5 lead, bringing BCU to call another timeout. A kill by Ady Dwight (Langford, S.D.) kickstarted the Tiger offense to score five-straight points, including a pair of service aces by Burns.

 A Sara Herman (Reliance, S.D.) service ace and a plethora of Charger errors pushed DWU onto victory over BCU for the second time this season.

 Dwight led the offense with 11 kills, as Else assisted 26 times to tag along with eight digs and two kills. Herman tallied 14 digs to lead the defense, as the Tigers recorded 10 service aces and 12 block assists as a team.

 The Tigers continue their home stint as they battle Presentation College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Corn Palace.